Pump valve



June 13, 1967 E, T. ROBERTS ET AL 3,324,880

PUMP VALVE Filed Dec. 23, 1963 f/77/77ff fioerf;

fP/c/zorc/ C .5064? INVENTORJ BY yaw/M United States Patent Ofiice 3,324,880 Patented June 13, 1967 3,324,880 PUMP VALVE Emmett T. Roberts and Richard C. Babb, Houston, 'llex.,

assignors to Mission Manufacturing Company, Houston, Tern, a corporation of Texas Filed Dec. 23, 1963, Ser. No. 332,612 4 Claims. (Cl. ISL-516.29)

This invention relates to pump valves.

It is an object of this invention to provide a valve for a pump such as a plunger pump in which the resilient seal member carried by the valve member extends below the seating surface on the valve member and engages the valve seat prior to engagement of the valve seat by the seating surface on the valve member.

Another object is to provide a valve as in the preceding object in which the resilient seal member is bonded to an annular shock plate to which the shock of closing is transmitted.

Another object is to provide a pump valve including a resilient seal member assembly which dissipates the shock of closing of the valve member.

A further object is to provide a pump valve having a resilient seal member and an annular plate bonded to said seal member to maintain the seal member in close contact with the valve body.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification, the drawing and the claims.

In the drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown, and wherein like reference numerals indicate like parts:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a plunger pump to illustrate the installation of the valve of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-section along the line 22 of FIGURE 1 illustrating the valve of this invention; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view of the seal member and annular shock plate of the valve of this invention.

The plunger pump indicated generally at may take any conventional form as the valves of this invention are useable with any conventional pump such as mud pumps, Water flood pumps and others. While only one valve is shown in FIGURE 2, it will be understood that there is a comparable valve in each inlet and exhaust port of pump 10.

Referring to FIGURE 2, the valve includes the valve seat 11 inserted into a bore 12 through the pump body 13. Valve seat 11 extends downwardly and forms the cylindrical guiding surface 14. The upper portion of valve seat 11 is formed into an upwardly and outwardly inclined frusto-conical seating surface 15.

A valve member indicated generally at 16 cooperates with the valve seating surface 15 to prevent flow of fluid through the valve in one direction.

Valve member 16 has a central body 17, outwardly extending flange 18 and hub 19. A plurality of guiding legs 20 depend from the lower portion of body 17. Guiding legs 20 are generally arranged to present an exterior cylindrical surface when in engagement with guiding surface 14 of valve seat 11 to guide the up and down movement of valve member 16 to and from seat 11. The lower portion of flange 18 of valve member 16 is upwardly and outwardly inclined to provide -frusto-conical seating surface 21 which when valve member 16 is seated on valve seat 11 engages a portion of seating surface 15 on valve seat 11. The upper portion of flange 18 inclines upwardly and outwardly and terminates in the outer cylindrical portion of flange 18. Seal member 22 surrounds central body 17 on valve member 16, fits against the upper surface of flange 18 and extends outwardly and depends downwardly around the outer surface of flange 18.

As best shown in FIGURE 3 the portion of seal member 22 surrounding the outer periphery of flange 18 ex tends a short distance below seating surface 21 on valve member 16 and is provided with an upwardly and out wardly inclined frusto-conical seating surface 23 which may have the same inclination as seating surfaces 15 and 21.

Shock plate 24 is bonded within the upper portion of seal member 22 and is generally annular in shape. Seal member 22 and bonded shock plate 24 cooperate as here inafter more fully explained to absorb the shock of closing of valve member 16. Means are provided to secure seal member 22 and shock plate 24 to valve member 16 including hub 19 of valve member 16 which is grooved at 25 to receive split retainer ring 26 which is retained in position engaging the upper inner portion of shock plate 24 by snap ring 27. The central bore through shock plate 24 and seal member 22 will be of larger diameter than the outer diameter of hub 19 on valve member 16 whereby seal member 22 and shock plate 24 will pass over hub 19 into proper position of engagement with central body 17 and flange 18 of valve member 16.

The fragmentary view of FIGURE 3 illustrates the free positions of seal member 22 and shock plate 24. The direction of flow between valve member 16 and valve seat 11 is generally indicated by the arrow. Thus when valve member 16 is in the position illustrated in FIG- URE 3 with seal member 22 projecting beyond seating surface 21 this flow will tend to force seal member 22 away from the outer periphery of flange 18. If this were not prevented it would allow solid particles being pumped to become lodged between seal member 22 and the outer periphery of flange 18. This action is prevented by shock plate 24 being bonded to seal member 22 and by making the portion of seal member 22 which fits over flange 18 smaller in diameter so that it is forced onto flange 18 during assembly. Shock plate 24 provides suflicient support and stiffening for seal member 22 so that it will not be forced away from the outer exterior of flange 18 by the flow of fluid between valve seat 11 and valve member 16.

It is preferred that seal member 22 be made from a material having suitable hardness whereby the shock of closing will be transmitted to shock plate 24 causing the exterior annular portion of shock plate 24 to be dished upwardly whereby a substantial portion of the shock of closing is absorbed in such deformation of shock plate 24. The material of seal member 22 may be a polyurethane, a polytetrafluoroethylene, a rubber, or other similar material having sufficient durometer hardness to transmit a major portion of the shock to shock plate 24 and sufiicient elasticity to deform and maintain a seal on seating surface 15.

It should be noted that shock plate 24 may have a different shape than is shown in the drawings if the shape will not prevent it from performing the function for which shock plate 24 is included in the present invention. Plate 24 may be slotted, tapered, cupped or otherwise shaped if it will deflect to absorb the impact of the valve closing. The shock plate 24 should have sufficient resiliency to absorb the shock of closing of the valve member and to return the seating surface 23 of the seal member 22 to project beyond the seating surface 21 of valve member 17 when unseated.

The distance, which seating surface 23 of seal member 22 in its free position extends below seating surface 21 on flange 18, depends on the material to be used for seal member 22. It is preferred that the material used for seal member 22 have a high modulus of elasticity so that a major portion of the load will be transmitted to shock plate 24 and into the deformation of shock plate 24 and only a small portion thereof will be absorbed by seal member 22. This projection of seal member 22 should be a sufiicient distance that when seated on seating surface and considering the deformation of seal member 22 and shock plate 24 that seating surface 23 will remain seated on seating surface 15 of valve seat 11 and provide an adequate seal against the flow of fluids therethrough. It is also preferred that seal member 22 be made of a relatively tough material which will not split or otherwise tear when it develops nicks or cuts in seating surface 23 or the outer periphery of seal member 22 and should have good resistance to abrasion resulting from the flow of fluids across seating surface 23. This material should have sufiicient strength to resist the tendency to flow or extrude into cracks which may result due to the trapping of a solid particle between surfaces 15 and 21.

A typical example where the installation of the valve member of the present invention in a pump will result in considerably longer life of the valve member due to the reduced closing shock and also will provide a more efficient sealing of the valve member when closed, is on plunger pumps whose output may range up to 20,000 pounds per square inch and whose discharge may range up to 1200 cycles per minute. Such installations particularly when pumping extremely abrasive fluids or solid particles in suspension in a liquid are very hard on valves and will wear out an ordinary valve member within a very short period of time. The valve member of the present invention when applied to such a pump installation will provide a very considerable increase in service life and in pumping efficiency. The pumping efficiency is improved by virtue of the sealing accomplished as soon as seating surface 23 of seal member 22 engages seating surface 15 on valve seat 11.

From the foregoing it may be seen that the present invention provides a novel valve member for a pump which absorbs the shock of closing and thereby greatly extends the service life of the valve. The valve member is of very simple design which is easily and readily manufactured and assembled and provides a seal member which transmits the shock of closing to a shock plate thereby preserving the proper seating of the valve over a prolonged period.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction, may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A pump valve, comprising a valve seat having an upwardly and outwardly inclined frusto-conical seating surface,

a valve member having an upwardly and outwardly inclined seating surface for engagement with the lower portion of said seating surface on said valve seat,

a seal member supported on said valve member,

said seal member having an upwardly and outwardly inclined frusto-conical seating surface for engagement with the upper portion of said seating surface on said valve seat,

the seating surface on said seal member, when unseated, projecting beyond the seating surface on said valve member, and

an annular shock plate having an outer diameter less than the outer diameter of said seal member and being positioned on the side of said seal member opposite said seating surface on said seal member and supported on said valve member whereby the shock of closing of said valve member on said valve seat is exerted through said seal member to said annular shock plate,

said seal member having sufficient hardness to transmit the impact of closing to said annular shock plate and sufficient resiliency to deform to provide a seal on said upper portion of said seating surface on said valve seat when said valve member is seated,

said shock plate being resilient, the resiliency of the shock plate and the hardness of said seal member being so related that seating of the valve member effects elastic deformation of the shock plate so as to absorb the shock of such seating.

2. A subcombination with a pump valve member having an annular seating surface, comprising a seal member adapted to be mounted on said valve member,

said seal member having a seating surface when unseated, projecting beyond the seating surface on said valve member, and

an annular shock plate having an outer diameter less than the outer diameter of said seal member and being positioned in the side of said seal member opposite said seating surface on said seal member,

said shock plate adapted to be supported on said valve member,

said seal member having sufficient hardness to transmit the impact of seating to said annular shock plate and sufiicient resiliency to seal on seating,

said shock plate being resilient,

the resiliency of said shock plate and the hardness of said seal member being so related that seating effects elastic deformation of the shock plate so as to absorb the shock of such seating.

3. A subcombination according to claim 2, wherein said annular shock plate is bonded to said seal member.

4. A subcombination with a pump valve member having an upwardly and outwardly inclined frusto-conical seating surface, comprising a seal member adapted to be mounted on said valve member, said seal member having an upwardly and outwardly inclined frusto-conical seating surface which, when unseated, projects beyond the seating surface on said valve member, and

an annular shock plate having an outer diameter less than the outer diameter of said seal member and being positioned on the side of said seal member opposite said seating surface on said seal member and supported on said valve member whereby the shock of closing of said valve member on said valve seat is exerted through said seal member to said annular shock plate,

said seal member having sufficient hardness to transmit the impact of closing to said annular shock plate and suflicient resiliency to deform to provide a seal on said upper portion of said seating surface on said valve seat when said valve member is seated,

said shock plate being resilient, the resiliency of the shock plate and the hardness of said seal member so related that seating of the valve member effects elastic deformation of the shock plate so as to absorb the shock of such seating.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,006,964 10/1911 Lyons.

1,295,394 2/1919 Voorhees 251-358 1,785,278 12/ 1930 MacClatchie.

2,521,314 9/1950 Therolf 251-332 2,903,235 9/1959 Rodgers 251-358 X 2,953,345 9/1960 Slemmons 25l368 X 3,053,500 9/1962 Atkinson 251-332 3,057,372 10/1962 Sutton 137-5l6.29

3,095,900 7/1963 Newhall l375l6.2-9 X ALAN COHAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A PUMP VALVE, COMPRISING A VALVE SEAT HAVING AN UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY INCLINED FRUSTO-CONICAL SEATING SURFACE, A VALVE MEMBER HAVING AN UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY INCLINED SEATING SURFACE FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID SEATING SURFACE ON SAID VALVE SEAT, A SEAL MEMBER SUPPORTED ON SAID VALVE MEMBER, SAID SEAL MEMBER HAVING AN UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY INCLINED FRUSTO-CONICAL SEATING SURFACE FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID SEATING SURFACE ON SAID VALVE SEAT, THE SEATING SURFACE ON SAID SEAL MEMBER, WHEN UNSEATED, PROJECTING BEYOND THE SEATING SURFACE ON SAID VALVE MEMBER, AND AN ANNULAR SHOCK PLATE HAVING AN OUTER DIAMETER LESS THAN THE OUTER DIAMETER OF SAID SEAL MEMBER AND BEING POSITIONED ON THE SIDE OF SAID SEAL MEMBER OPPOSITE SAID SEATING SURFACE ON SAID SEAL MEMBER AND SUPPORTED ON SAID VALVE MEMBER WHEREBY THE SHOCK OF CLOSING OF SAID VALVE MEMBER ON SAID VALVE SEAT IS EXERTED THROUGH SAID SEAL MEMBER TO SAID ANNULAR SHOCK PLATE, SAID SEAL MEMBER HAVING SUFFICIENT HARDNESS TO TRANSMIT THE IMPACT OF CLOSING TO SAID ANNULAR SHOCK PLATE AND SUFFICIENT RESILIENCY TO DEFORM TO PROVIDE A SEAL ON SAID UPPER PORTION OF SAID SEATING SURFACE ON SAID VALVE SEAT WHEN SAID VALVE MEMBER IS SEATED, SAID SHOCK PLATE BEING RESILIENT, THE RESILIENCY OF THE SHOCK PLATE AND THE HARDNESS OF SAID SEAL MEMBER BEING SO RELATED THAT SEATING OF THE VALVE MEMBER EFFECTS ELASTIC DEFORMATION OF THE SHOCK PLATE SO AS TO ABSORB THE SHOCK OF SUCH SEATING. 